


A Sensitive Matter

by thinlizzy2



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Best Friends, F/F, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-18
Updated: 2019-04-18
Packaged: 2019-11-19 01:01:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18128885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thinlizzy2/pseuds/thinlizzy2
Summary: As Captain Janeway's dangerous infatuation with Seven of Nine becomes apparent, Tuvok contemplates what his duties are to his friend and his Captain and what he should do when those two are one and the same.A Tuvok character study and an exploration of Tuok and Janeway's deep bond.





	A Sensitive Matter

**Author's Note:**

  * For [phnelt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/phnelt/gifts).



_The Captain is in serious danger._

Tuvok leans back in his chair and tents his fingers, contemplating the thought. He is reasonably certain that he is correct. Theirs has been a long and enduring friendship, and he has seen this before. Fortunately Captain Kathryn Janeway is less self-destructive than certain other members of her species whom he has known, but she is still subject to what is still fondly referred to as human weakness. He has known it to manifest even in her before. And this seems to be quite a serious case; none of Captain Janeway's previous lovers seem to have inspired the same... Tuvok is not sure what to call it. Recklessness, perhaps? Passion? Need? Understanding of exactly what the young Borg woman whom the Captain has, rather oddly, named Seven brings out in her does not come easily to a Vulcan mind. Nevertheless, he is quite certain that it most certainly poses a threat to his Captain and friend, and that threat needs to be addressed and neutralized as soon as possible. Furthermore, all of his experience with her indicates that it will be he whom she will soon approach for some counsel on exactly how to manage the perilous situation. Discussions of romance are no easier for him than an understanding of passionate foolhardiness, and therefore it will benefit both of them if he is able to bring some prepared thoughts into the conversation.

He has received no training for this, not at the Law Enforcement Institute on Vulcan and not at Starfleet Academy. It is unlikely that anyone at either of those places would have ever envisioned a situation where a Vulcan Chief of Security would become the not only the closest friend but also the most likely emotional confidant of his human Captain. His instructors at the Academy would have laughed at the thought and the educators back on Vulcan would not have even deigned to respond. They would have said, rather disapprovingly, that there was no logic in wasting valuable time on thinking about such an unlikely scenario.

Tuvok wonders if it is more or less likely than that same Captain and officer ending up stranded in another quadrant, decades from Earth or Vulcan with a mismatched crew and a troubling Borg element in the mix, constantly seeking out coffee. He decides it is probably a draw and also that he should stop distracting himself from the task at hand with pointless statistical puzzles. 

What is he going to tell the Captain?

The logical thing, he knows, would be to advise her to abandon all thoughts of a relationship with the Borg girl. Or if, as he is beginning to suspect, a relationship has already begun, then she should end it. A romantic entanglement with any crew member is always ill-advised in a command situation, and involving oneself with a individual so ill-prepared for shipboard life, so divisive and so uncertain in her loyalties could be considered dangerously foolish. Yes, some norms have needed to shift in light of their current situation but for the sake of herself, the crew and her command, all contact with Seven of Nine should be entirely professional in nature from this point onward. Tuvok may need to frame that in slightly softer terms for the Captain to be willing to hear it, but then again perhaps not too much. One of the things that he likes best about Captain Janeway is her ability to hear harsh truths without shrinking back from them. Tuvok honestly believes that, given the opportunity, he will be able to persuade her to see reason, to back away from Seven, to...

He sighs. To resign herself to a life lived alone. That is ultimately what he is asking her to do. To spend every day, of every year of what is potentially the rest of her life simply going from her empty quarters to the Bridge and back again, with little or nothing to sweeten the draw of either place. Of course, _he_ would be most happy to be her companion whenever she should need one, and he can already imagine her sad smile when he reminds her of that fact. But as deep and vital as their friendship is, there are some needs that cannot be filled by simple good comradeship.

The fact that the Captain is most likely to take Tuvok's advice and accept her loneliness is what is making him hesitant to offer that advice at all. He wonders if it is strange that he thinks of his best friend as the Captain, rather than as Kathryn, even when they are not on duty. He supposes it has something to do with the inescapable nature of their work. She must always, unendingly, be the Captain, even inside his mind. He also wonders if it is her human influence the causes him to allow that mind to wander away from a problem for which he still has no solution.

He allows himself a sigh. These things are so much easier among Vulcans. Logical, mutually beneficial pairings with an agreement about children and an understanding of what will occur once every seven years. Usually. 

And even for humans, these things are generally simpler in the Alpha Quandrant. There are shore leaves and non-essential away missions and a string of visitors who pass through ships to whom the chain of command means nothing. There are still some ships where a constantly rotating string of attractive and temporary lovers moving through the Captain's quarters is seen as an amusing fact of onboard life. But Voyager is not one of those ships. 

And even it it were, Kathryn Janeway has never been one of those Captains. In fact, this entire situation is fairly unlike her. To risk so much, and for what? A beautiful young woman, a hand to hold, a warm bed? He understands the appeal of these things, but they have never been her priorities. Perhaps it is the stress of their unique situation. Perhaps it is the novelty of Seven of Nine's Borg upbringing combined with her human heritage. Perhaps...

Perhaps she is in love. 

Yes. It is fully possible that his dearest friend is in love, and that he is planning to ask her to break her own heart.

He drops his head into his hands. 

He has never wanted to be a ship's counselor. In fact, the only position that he ever wanted is the one that he currently holds. Not many Vulcans opt to work in Security, but Tuvok finds what he does deeply fulfilling. To protect a ship and its crew, to protect his Captain - that has been all he has ever wanted. And that is what he must do now. But does she need protection from a dangerous desire?

Or from the obligations of her role?

He longs for someone whose advice he could seek on this matter. His natural inclination is to talk to Captain Janeway, but that is clearly impossible now. His other instinct says that his wife would be an ideal choice, but - of course - she is far away and out of reach; he cannot turn to her.

The horror of his situation - his isolation and his loneliness - strikes him at the same time that realization finally arrives. 

He cannot inflict this same torment on someone whom he loves.

And so, by the time that the Captain appears at the door to Tuvok's quarters, worry creased into her brow and the aura of a sleepless night hovering around her like a toxic cloud, Tuvok knows what words he needs to say to her. He watches the surprise and pleasure spread slowly across her features and he all he can do is hope that the risks that they are both choosing to take in this moment will somehow bring a brighter outcome than logic dictates is likely.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for phnelt for Space Swap 2019.


End file.
